Local Counties to Receive Funding From JUUL Settlement to Combat Youth Vaping

Friday, February 16th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has awarded 13 grants worth $830,000 over the next two years to community organizations throughout Wisconsin to help address the youth and young adult vaping epidemic.

Funding for the Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives (VPTI) grants comes from current payments to Wisconsin as part of a $14.7 million multiyear JUUL Settlement announced by the Wisconsin Department of Justice in September 2022.

The DHS Tobacco Prevention and Control Program hosted virtual statewide listening sessions and online surveys in summer 2023 to gather input from residents about vaping.

The data collected helped drive the decision to support local organizations addressing the vaping epidemic, along with statewide efforts already in progress. The money will be used for community- and school-based programs to prevent vaping and help teens and young adults quit, for research on vaping prevention, and ways to decrease access to or the use of vape products.

All efforts will be directed toward teens and young adults up to age 24. A couple local entities that received the Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives grants include the Jackson County Health Department and the Marathon County Health Department.

Find more information about JUUL Settlement funding on the DHS website.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.